Nebraska Football: 5 storylines for spring football

4. Impact Freshmen

A new coaching staff often comes with a cleaning out of players from the old regime. There are guys that aren’t deemed Big Ten caliber of athletes, sometimes it is bad academics or attitudes, and other times players don’t fit the mold the new staff needs in their schemes. For instance, Frost gave McKenzie Milton, his young quarterback at UCF, the nod early. Milton played in 23 games in two seasons under Frost.

Nebraska’s recruiting class took a shot in the arm in hiring Frost and he pulled in the 22nd overall recruiting class in 2018. The key to the class is dual threat quarterback Adrian Martinez. Martinez is a four-star prospect from Fresno, CA. He’s bigger than Milton, at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, but he’ll still be asked to mix in the option run game with run-pass options that are a part of Frost’s hurry-up no-huddle approach. Martinez could get the nod to start right away with the Huskers hosting Akron, Colorado, and Troy before taking on the more difficult portion of their schedule.

Tampa Jefferson wide receiver Justin McGriff is the big threat that Frost needs in his spread offense. McGriff is 6-foot-5 and 205 pound three-star that the Husker staff could poach from Florida after making in roads over the past two years. Maurice Washington, a four-star running back from Texas, could get immediate playing time as Frost looks to introduce speed to the Big Ten West.

On defense, Caleb Tannor, a defensive end from Georgia, is a four-star prospect that could play the rush end role that Shaquem Griffin held with the Knights. Safety Cam’ron Jones is another Texas native that received four-stars per 247 Sports.